Merkle, dentsu’s leading technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company, today announced four key appointments to its leadership team: David Novak, Global Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Lead; Missy Foristall, Chief Operating Officer, Americas; Dan Knauf, Chief Technology Officer, Americas; and Eric Buss, Head of Customer Experience and Commerce, Americas.

These leaders will partner with Merkle’s established executive team, innovating to drive impact across the organization and accelerate growth for Merkle and its clients. The hires will help sharpen Merkle’s focus as a data-led experience transformation partner for clients across three key areas: Data and Analytics; CRM and Loyalty; and Commerce and Content Solutions.  

Each of the four new hires brings a unique background and expertise to drive innovation across Merkle:

• As Global CRM Lead, David Novak brings more than 15 years of expertise in brand strategy, CRM, and demand generation. Previously a Senior Partner at Prophet and a Partner at IBM, David leads Merkle’s global CRM practice, driving go-to-market strategies and fostering deeper relationships with key technology alliance partners. David will create strategies that help Merkle’s clients to put customers at the center of their business. 

• Missy Foristall joins Merkle as Chief Operating Officer for the Americas, with extensive experience in media, marketing, and technology. She was previously Global COO and Americas CEO at DEPT, and Vice President of Talent Management Solutions at IBM. As COO for Merkle Americas, Missy will drive operational efficiencies and best practices, ensuring scalable client solutions, and advancing Merkle’s growth across the region. Her leadership will provide seamless delivery of innovative, client-focused strategies. 

• Dan Knauf, appointed Chief Technology Officer for the Americas, has decades of experience in technology leadership. Joining Merkle from Material, where he served as CTO, Dan’s background includes nearly 12 years at Sapient and roles at ICF Next. As CTO, Americas, Dan will enhance Merkle’s technology and engineering capabilities and serve as the leading voice and advisor for clients’ technology organizations. Dan will also accelerate AI capabilities and offerings across all Merkle solutions to drive efficiencies and best practices for the organization and for clients.

• Eric Buss, who joins as GTM and Commercial Lead for Merkle’s CX&C practice in the Americas, has a proven track record of leading successful commerce and content initiatives. With leadership roles at IBM iX, Accenture, and the startup Acquity Group, Eric’s expertise lies in delivering scalable, customer-focused solutions in CX transformation and commerce areas that align with clients’ investment plans and priorities. Eric will guide Merkle’s commerce growth strategy, helping clients navigate and succeed in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

“We are thrilled to welcome David, Missy, Dan and Eric to Merkle’s leadership team,” said Pete Stein, Global President, Merkle. “We fundamentally believe that winning brands will lead on customer experience, and the practice of ‘customer experience management’ today is being revolutionized by AI-powered automation. As an industry, we have never been closer to delivering on the promise of truly personalized, relevant, useful customer experiences deployed at global scale. We believe these new leaders are critical additions to the team we’re building to make that vision a reality for our clients.”

These key new hires come 18 months after a reorganization of Merkle’s performance creative and media teams into dentsu’s creative and media practices, allowing the organization to focus on delivering end-to-end, data-powered customer experience transformation. Since making these shifts, Merkle has seen success including winning work with Haleon and Amica Mutual Insurance, and continuing to fuel growth for existing clients.

Paul Reh, Vice President of Global Customer Experience and Digital, Enterprise Mobility, said, “Merkle offers deep expertise in helping integrate and leverage our tech stack to better understand how that tech can power a stronger go-to-market experience. Coordinating all the pieces of our integrated ecosystem helps us use data to better know our customers and develop moments that matter to them.”

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